Juvenal Habyarimana, 57, Ruled Rwanda for 21 Years

By RONALD SULLIVAN

Published: April 7, 1994

President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda, who was reported killed yesterday when his airplane crashed while returning from a conference of African leaders, assumed power over the small Central African country 21 years ago.

A former army officer, the 57-year-old Mr. Habyarimana rose through the ranks to become head of the national guard and the country's police. In 1973 he led a bloodless military coup that established him in power for the rest of his life.

Mr. Habyarimana was born to an aristocratic Hutu family and studied medicine before entering military school in 1960. Graduating in 1961, he rose to become army chief of staff in 1963 and entered the Government in 1965.

Mr. Habyarimana became a confidant of President Gregoire Kayibanda, who appointed him as a major general in January 1973. But in July of that year, Mr. Habyarimana ousted the President, saying he had failed to take adequate steps to end tribal and regional conflicts. Years of Economic Progress

The initial years of Mr. Habyarimana's leadership were marked by considerable development and economic progress. But he also faced repeated attempts to overthrow his Government, mostly by rebel invaders from adjoining Uganda.

Much of the strife in Rwanda centers on a long-standing rivalry between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. Mr. Habyarimana's power was based on his support of a Hutu elite that controlled most segments of the Government since 1959, when the Hutu defeated the Tutsi minority in a civil war.

Mr. Habyarimana excelled at strengthening ties to the West and attracting foreign aid and investment at a time when a number of other African leaders were being accused of running corrupt and inefficient governments.

He was re-elected in 1989 for a third five-year term as the only candidate.

In 1990, he sought to make a major break with the past by authorizing the formation of a multiparty political system in what was largely a feudal society. But his efforts to reach a peaceful settlement were not successful.

Mr. Habyarimana is survived by his wife, Agathe, and eight children.

Photo: Juvenal Habyarimana, President of the African country of Rwanda. (Camera Press London)